Reading F.C. Under-21s and Academy

Reading Under-21s and Academy

Full name	Reading Football Club Under-21s & Academy
Nickname(s)	The Royals
Ground	Madejski Stadium, Adams Park, Hogwood Park
Chairman	Sir John Madejski
Manager	Lee Herron (Academy), Martin Kuhl (Under-23s)
League	Professional Development League 1
2013–14	U21s – 17th, U18s – 3rd (South Division)
Home colours Away colours

Reading F.C. Under-21s and Academy are the development teams of Reading Football Club. Following the restructuring of reserve and youth team football in 2012, Reading compete in the Professional Development League 1 and enter teams in both the under-21 and under-18 competitions.

Under the old youth training scheme, the club produced a number of first team players including Ady Williams, Scott Taylor and future England international Neil Webb. Since the Academy opened in 1999, 34 graduates have gone on to play first team football for Reading including Gylfi Sigurðsson, who was later sold for a club record transfer fee.

History

Reading were granted Academy status by the Football Association in February 1999. The first Academy manager was John Stephenson who oversaw the club's youth development until October 2000 when he left to join Preston North End. He was succeeded by former Reading goalkeeper, and the then goalkeeping coach, Nick Hammond.^[1] After his appointment as Reading's first Director of football in September 2003, Hammond combined all three roles until the appointment of Exeter City boss Eamonn Dolan as the new Academy manager in October 2004,^[2] a position he still holds. The club originally trained in rented facilities at Sonning Lane and Bradfield College but moved to their own training ground at Hogwood Park in Arborfield in 2004.^[3][4] A two-year Academy partnership with Boreham Wood was announced in July 2012^[5] with the club also aiming to have a first-team composed of 50% Academy players.^[6] The introduction in 2012 of the four-tier academy system under the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) forced the club to search for a new training ground in order to meet the criteria for Category One status.^[7] With this in mind, the club agreed in principle to buy land at Bearwood Lakes Golf Club for a new training facility at a cost of between £10 million and £20 million in May 2013.^[8][9] In July 2013, the club confirmed they had achieved Category One status.^[10]

The Reading reserves competed in the Capital League between 1995 and 1998 before joining The Football Combination which they played in from 1998 until 2006, excluding the 1999–2000 season.^[11] With the senior side's promotion to the Premier League in 2006, the reserve team was also promoted to the Premier Reserve League for the 2006–07 season. Under future first-team manager Brian McDermott, the reserves finished top of the Southern section and beat Bolton reserves 2–0 to win the overall title in their first season.^[12] They finished second the following year but were relegated as the first team dropped into the Championship.^[13] The reserves rejoined the Football Combination following their relegation and remained there until 2010 when they withdrew in order to arrange their own fixtures against a higher level of opposition.^[14]

With the club's application for Category One status under the EPPP, the under-21 and Academy (under-18) teams competed in the new Professional Development League 1 for the 2012–13 season.^[15] The teams were successful under the new format with the under-18s finishing as runners-up to Fulham in the inaugural competition,^[16] and the under-21s winning the first U21 Premier League Cup the following year.^[17]

Under-21 squad

The under-21s play their home matches at Hogwood Park, the club's training ground, with four games each season being played at the Madejski Stadium. Three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 are allowed to be selected for each fixture,^[18] with scholars from the Academy squad also eligible to play. The following players are those in the senior squad who are under 21, but are not regularly involved in first team games.

As of 22 July 2016.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 27 FW Craig Tanner 28 MF Aaron Kuhl 32 DF Sean Long 33 DF Shane Griffin 34 DF Niall Keown 36 FW Andrija Novakovich 37 MF Jack Stacey 38 MF Liam Kelly 39 MF Tarique Fosu 40 GK Stuart Moore 43 DF Tennai Watson

No. Position Player 45 DF Dominic Hyam 46 DF Robert Dickie 49 FW Josh Barrett 52 DF Gabriel Osho — GK George Legg — GK Lewis Ward — DF Zak Jules — MF Lisandro Semedo — MF Jake Sheppard — MF Andy Rinomhota — FW Harry Cardwell — FW Sam Smith

Academy squad

Each year, following the completion of their full-time education, the club signs a number of schoolboys, from both within the academy and from other clubs, on scholarship agreements.^[23] The scholarships last two years after which the player signs professionally or is released by the club. In instances where a player is particularly valued, the club may opt to sign them on professional terms at an earlier age.^[24] The scholars make up the bulk of the Academy team which competes in the under-18 league, though younger players are also eligible. As well as the league, the Academy also enters a team into the FA Youth Cup.

As of 18 January 2015.^[20][25][26]

Pos. Player Joined International call-ups GK Billy Collings — GK Luke Southwood  England under-19[27] GK Joe Tupper — GK Lewis Ward  England under-16[28] DF Daniel Akinwunmi — DF Axel Andresson 2014  Iceland under-17[29] DF Harrison Bennett — DF Marc Ethleston — DF Zak Jules 2013  Scotland under-19[25] DF Gabriel Osho 2015  Nigeria under-17[30] DF Sindri Scheving 2014  Iceland under-17[31] DF Tennai Watson — MF Josh Barrett  Republic of Ireland under-21[32] MF Joshua Chatee —

Pos. Player Joined International call-ups MF Lewis Collins 2013  Northern Ireland under-19[33] MF Ryan East — MF Noor Husin — MF Hammed Lawal 2013 — MF Jake Sheppard  Scotland under-18[34] MF Tomas Urbancic 2013  Iceland under-17[35] MF Amadu Waritay — FW Harry Cardwell 2013  Scotland under-21[25] FW Conor Davis 2014  Republic of Ireland under-16[36] FW Andrija Novakovich 2014  United States under-20[25] FW Sam Smith 2014 — FW Justin Thompson-Lee — FW Daniel Williams —

Staff

Academy and development staff^[37][38]

• Academy manager: Eamonn Dolan
• Assistant Academy manager: David Dodds
• Professional phase coach: Martin Kuhl
• Part-time Academy coach: Michael Gilkes

Former players

Graduates

Prior to the establishment of the Academy, Reading produced several players for the first-team who went on to have successful careers. Neil Webb became Reading's youngest ever goalscorer aged 17 years and 31 days and made a total of 81 appearances for the club, later going on to win 26 England caps.^[39] Ady Williams made nearly 400 appearances in three spells between 1988 and 2004 and was capped 13 times for Wales^[40] whilst Stuart Lovell made 227 league appearances, scored 58 times and played twice for the Australia national team.^[41] Others to have come through the ranks include Johnny Brooks, Jerry Williams, Steve Hetzke, Scott Taylor and Maurice Evans, who made over 400 league appearances for Reading and later managed the first-team between 1977 and 1984.^[42][43]

Since the Academy opened in 1999, 35 graduates have gone on to play for the first team. Players who have gone on to play for their country at full international level are marked in bold whilst those still at the club are marked in italics.^[44]

Josh Barrett Nicholas Bignall Darren Campbell Peter Castle Simon Church Jake Cooper Simon Cox Lawson D'Ath Scott Davies Robert Dickie Ryan Edwards Tarique Fosu

Alex Haddow Ben Hamer Michael Hector James Henry Darius Henderson Jem Karacan Julian Kelly Niall Keown Aaron Kuhl Sean Long Alex McCarthy Jordan Obita

Curtis Osano Alex Pearce Hal Robson-Kanu Dominic Samuel Gylfi Sigurðsson Jack Stacey Craig Tanner Jake Taylor Aaron Tshibola Nathan Tyson Jamie Young

Careers elsewhere

A number of players attached to the Academy as schoolboys and scholars, as well as those who signed professionally but never made a first team appearance, have gone on play league football elsewhere. Those that have gone on to play for their country at full international level are marked in bold.^{[44][45][46][47][48]}

Charlie Austin[49] Marvin Bartley[50] Abdulai Bell-Baggie Doug Bergqvist[51] Kelvin Bossman Andre Boucaud Oliver Bozanic Henrik Breimyr[52] Daniel Carr[53] Harry Cooksley[54] Ben Gladwin

Tom Hateley[55] Jonny Hayes Uche Ikpeazu[56] Ji Dong-Won Clovis Kamdjo Adam Lockwood Adam Mekki[57] Carl McHugh Johnny Mullins[58] Nam Tae-Hee Matt Partridge[59]

Frankie Raymond Scott Rendell[60] James Rowe[61] Louie Soares[62] Chris Smith Rhys Tyler Gozie Ugwu Radoslav Vasilev[63] Connor Wickham[64] Andy White

Records and honours

Several Academy graduates hold club records. Peter Castle became the club's youngest ever player when he came on as a substitute against Watford on 30 April 2003 for his first and only Reading appearance, aged 16 years and 49 days, whilst Gylfi Sigurðsson holds the record for the highest transfer fee received when he moved to Hoffenheim in August 2010.^[65] In May 2013 Alex McCarthy became the first Reading graduate to be selected in the England squad since the Academy era began in 1999.^[66] Additionally, three graduates have been named Player of the Season with Gylfi Sigurðsson, Alex Pearce and Jordan Obita winning in 2009–10, 2011–12 and 2013–14 respectively.^[67]

The Football Combination^[11]

Winners: 2003–04, 2008–09

Runners-up: 2005–06

Premier Reserve League

Winners: 2006–07^[13]

Under-21 Premier League Cup

Winners: 2013–14^[17]

Under-18 Professional Development League 1

Runners-up: 2012–13^[16]

References

1. "The Royals Academy". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 2 April 2002. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
2. "Moving farewell for football boss". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
3. "Royals line up Arborfield training ground". Reading Post. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
4. "Little to return for Cup derby". Reading Post. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
5. "Royals agree Academy Partnership". Reading F.C. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
6. "Grimsby Town youth player Lewis Collins all set for Royal appointment". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
7. Fordham, Jonny (20 September 2012). "Reading FC on the hunt for a new training ground". Reading Post. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
8. "Training ground deal". Reading F.C. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
9. Fort, Linda (17 May 2013). "Reading FC aim to buy Bearwood golf course". Reading Post. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
10. "Category One confirmed". Reading F.C. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
11. "Football Combination records". Royals Record. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
12. "Royals are Viktorious". Reading Post. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
13. "Premier Reserve League records". Royals Record. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
14. Fordham, Jonny (28 April 2010). "Reading FC ditch reserve league". Retrieved 2 June 2013.
15. "Youth development rules" (pdf). The Football Association. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
16. "Barclays U18s: Fulham crowned champions". Premier League. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
17. "Reading turn tables on Man City to lift U21 PL Cup". The Premier League. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
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27. "Southwood selected for England U19 fixtures with Mexico". Reading F.C. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
28. "Trio make England bow". Reading F.C. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
29. "Axel Andresson". UEFA. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
30. "Manu Garba tips eaglets for glory".
31. "Sindri Scheving". UEFA. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
32. "VIDEO: Ireland U21s suffer 3-1 loss in Slovenia". fai.ie. DFSDFSD. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
33. "International Royals". Reading F.C. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
34. "Five on Scotland duty". Reading F.C. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
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36. "O'Connor names U16 squad for UEFA Development tournament". Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
37. "Academy and development staff". Reading F.C. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
38. "Youngsters beat Wolfsburg". Reading F.C. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
39. Rice, Xan (9 May 2004). "When the music stops - Part 1". The Observer. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
40. "Player profile: Ady Williams". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
41. "I felt like a fair dinkum Aussie". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
42. "Reading F.C. players 1946–2012". Neil Brown statistics. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
43. "Managers of Reading F.C.". Reading F.C. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
44. "Academy graduates". Reading F.C. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
45. "Dolan's insight into newboys". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
46. "Korea's Nam Tae-Hee believes Sunderland-bound Ji Dong-Won will be a 'great player'". Goal.com. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
47. "Royals offer scholarship contracts to seven schoolboys for next season". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 27 June 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
48. "Induction for new intake". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 20 July 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
49. Gibson, Richard (7 November 2012). "Scouting Report: Ex-brickie Austin leading Ronaldo, Messi and Co in Euro goalscoring charts". Daily Mail. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
50. "Player profile: Marvin Bartley". Burnley F.C. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
51. "Doug Bergqvist joins Exeter from Aldershot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
52. "Henrik Breimyr profile". Aldershot Town F.C. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
53. "Town sign Daniel Carr". Huddersfield Town F.C. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
54. "Harry Cooksley profile". Aldershot Town F.C. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
55. "Reading axe Murty and Hahnemann". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
56. "Uche Ikpeazu: Watford sign prolific teenager on pro contract". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
57. "Adam Mekki profile". Aldershot Town F.C. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
58. "Johnny Mullins profile". Rotherham United F.C. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
59. "Matt Partridge". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
60. "Dolan: 'Academy is a success'...but Gooding's unconvinced". Reading Post. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
61. "James Rowe profile". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
62. "Louie Soares profile". Aldershot Town F.C. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
63. "Vasilev signing: Inside info". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
64. Rayner, Stuart (18 January 2012). "Connor Wickham's time to stand on his own has arrived". The Journal. Newcastle. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
65. "Club honours and records". Reading F.C. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
66. "McCarthy in England squad". Reading F.C. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
67. "Statistics". Reading F.C. Retrieved 24 May 2013.

External links

• Under-21 homepage at Reading F.C.
• Academy homepage at Reading F.C.